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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260914
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260915
DTSTAMP:20170728T180928Z
CREATED:20170728T180928Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180928Z
UID:50935-1789344000-1789430399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Exaltation of the Holy Cross
DESCRIPTION:Image: The Exaltation of the True Cross | anonymous Russian icon painter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nExaltation of the Holy Cross\nSaint of the Day for September 14\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe Story of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross\nEarly in the fourth century\, Saint Helena\, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine\, went to Jerusalem in search of the holy places of Christ’s life. She razed the second-century Temple of Aphrodite\, which tradition held was built over the Savior’s tomb\, and her son built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher on that spot. During the excavation\, workers found three crosses. Legend has it that the one on which Jesus died was identified when its touch healed a dying woman. \nThe cross immediately became an object of veneration. At a Good Friday celebration in Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century\, according to an eyewitness\, the wood was taken out of its silver container and placed on a table together with the inscription Pilate ordered placed above Jesus’ head: Then “all the people pass through one by one; all of them bow down\, touching the cross and the inscription\, first with their foreheads\, then with their eyes; and\, after kissing the cross\, they move on.” \nTo this day the Eastern Churches\, Catholic and Orthodox alike\, celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the September anniversary of the basilica’s dedication. The feast entered the Western calendar in the seventh century after Emperor Heraclius recovered the cross from the Persians\, who had carried it off in 614\, 15 years earlier. According to the story\, the emperor intended to carry the cross back into Jerusalem himself\, but was unable to move forward until he took off his imperial garb and became a barefoot pilgrim. \n\nReflection\nThe cross is today the universal image of Christian belief. Countless generations of artists have turned it into a thing of beauty to be carried in procession or worn as jewelry. To the eyes of the first Christians\, it had no beauty. It stood outside too many city walls\, decorated only with decaying corpses\, as a threat to anyone who defied Rome’s authority—including Christians who refused sacrifice to Roman gods. Although believers spoke of the cross as the instrument of salvation\, it seldom appeared in Christian art unless disguised as an anchor or the Chi-Rho until after Constantine’s edict of toleration.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/exaltation-of-the-holy-cross/2026-09-14/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260915
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260916
DTSTAMP:20170728T180929Z
CREATED:20170728T180929Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180929Z
UID:50938-1789430400-1789516799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Our Lady of Sorrows
DESCRIPTION:Image: Our Lady of Sorrows statue in Golgotha\, Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem | photo by creisor\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOur Lady of Sorrows\nSaint of the Day for September 15\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nThe Story of Our Lady of Sorrows\nFor a while there were two feasts in honor of the Sorrowful Mother: one going back to the 15th century\, the other to the 17th century. For a while both were celebrated by the universal Church: one on the Friday before Palm Sunday\, the other in September. \nThe principal biblical references to Mary’s sorrows are in Luke 2:35 and John 19:26-27. The Lucan passage is Simeon’s prediction about a sword piercing Mary’s soul; the Johannine passage relates Jesus’ words from the cross to Mary and to the beloved disciple. \nMany early Church writers interpret the sword as Mary’s sorrows\, especially as she saw Jesus die on the cross. Thus\, the two passages are brought together as prediction and fulfillment. \nSaint Ambrose in particular sees Mary as a sorrowful yet powerful figure at the cross. Mary stood fearlessly at the cross while others fled. Mary looked on her Son’s wounds with pity\, but saw in them the salvation of the world. As Jesus hung on the cross\, Mary did not fear to be killed\, but offered herself to her persecutors. \n\nReflection\nJohn’s account of Jesus’ death is highly symbolic. When Jesus gives the beloved disciple to Mary\, we are invited to appreciate Mary’s role in the Church: She symbolizes the Church; the beloved disciple represents all believers. As Mary mothered Jesus\, she is now mother to all his followers. Furthermore\, as Jesus died\, he handed over his Spirit. Mary and the Spirit cooperate in begetting new children of God—almost an echo of Luke’s account of Jesus’ conception. Christians can trust that they will continue to experience the caring presence of Mary and Jesus’ Spirit throughout their lives and throughout history.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/our-lady-of-sorrows/2026-09-15/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260916
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260917
DTSTAMP:20170728T180931Z
CREATED:20170728T180931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180931Z
UID:50940-1789516800-1789603199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Cornelius
DESCRIPTION:Image: Stained glass window in Catholic Church of Saint-Corneille | photo by GFreihalter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Cornelius\nSaint of the Day for September 16\n(d. 253)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Cornelius’ Story\nThere was no pope for 14 months after the martyrdom of Saint Fabian because of the intensity of the persecution of the Church. During the interval\, the Church was governed by a college of priests. Saint Cyprian\, a friend of Cornelius\, writes that Cornelius was elected pope “by the judgment of God and of Christ\, by the testimony of most of the clergy\, by the vote of the people\, with the consent of aged priests and of good men.” \nThe greatest problem of Cornelius’s two-year term as pope had to do with the Sacrament of Penance and centered on the readmission of Christians who had denied their faith during the time of persecution. Two extremes were finally both condemned. Cyprian\, primate of North Africa\, appealed to the pope to confirm his stand that the relapsed could be reconciled only by the decision of the bishop. \nIn Rome\, however\, Cornelius met with the opposite view. After his election\, a priest named Novatian (one of those who had governed the Church) had himself consecrated a rival bishop of Rome—one of the first antipopes. He denied that the Church had any power to reconcile not only the apostates\, but also those guilty of murder\, adultery\, fornication\, or second marriage! Cornelius had the support of most of the Church (especially of Cyprian of Africa) in condemning Novatianism\, though the sect persisted for several centuries. Cornelius held a synod at Rome in 251 and ordered the “relapsed” to be restored to the Church with the usual “medicines of repentance.” \nThe friendship of Cornelius and Cyprian was strained for a time when one of Cyprian’s rivals made accusations about him. But the problem was cleared up. \nA document from Cornelius shows the extent of organization in the Church of Rome in the mid-third century: 46 priests\, seven deacons\, seven subdeacons. It is estimated that the number of Christians totaled about 50\,000. \nCornelius died as a result of the hardships of his exile in what is now Civitavecchia. \n\nReflection\nIt seems fairly true to say that almost every possible false doctrine has been proposed at some time or other in the history of the Church. The third century saw the resolution of a problem we scarcely consider—the penance to be done before reconciliation with the Church after mortal sin. Men like Cornelius and Cyprian were God’s instruments in helping the Church find a prudent path between extremes of rigorism and laxity. They are part of the Church’s ever-living stream of tradition\, ensuring the continuance of what was begun by Christ\, and evaluating new experiences through the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-cornelius/2026-09-16/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260917
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260918
DTSTAMP:20170728T180932Z
CREATED:20170728T180932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180932Z
UID:50941-1789603200-1789689599@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Robert Bellarmine
DESCRIPTION:Image: Detail | Stained glass window in Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church\, Dayton\, Ohio | photo by Nheyob\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Robert Bellarmine\nSaint of the Day for September 17\n(October 4\, 1542 – September 17\, 1621)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Robert Bellarmine’s Story\nWhen Robert Bellarmine was ordained in 1570\, the study of Church history and the fathers of the Church was in a sad state of neglect. A promising scholar from his youth in Tuscany\, he devoted his energy to these two subjects\, as well as to Scripture\, in order to systematize Church doctrine against the attacks of the Protestant Reformers. He was the first Jesuit to become a professor at Louvain. \nHis most famous work is his three-volume Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on the temporal power of the pope and the role of the laity. He incurred the anger of monarchists in England and France by showing the divine-right-of-kings theory untenable. He developed the theory of the indirect power of the pope in temporal affairs; although he was defending the pope against the Scottish philosopher Barclay\, he also incurred the ire of Pope Sixtus V. \nBellarmine was made a cardinal by Pope Clement VIII on the grounds that “he had not his equal for learning.” While he occupied apartments in the Vatican\, Bellarmine relaxed none of his former austerities. He limited his household expenses to what was barely essential\, eating only the food available to the poor. He was known to have ransomed a soldier who had deserted from the army and he used the hangings of his rooms to clothe poor people\, remarking\, “The walls won’t catch cold.” \nAmong many activities\, he became theologian to Pope Clement VIII\, preparing two catechisms which have had great influence in the Church. \nThe last major controversy of Bellarmine’s life came in 1616 when he had to admonish his friend Galileo\, whom he admired. Bellarmine delivered the admonition on behalf of the Holy Office\, which had decided that the heliocentric theory of Copernicus was contrary to Scripture. The admonition amounted to a caution against putting forward—other than as a hypothesis—theories not yet fully proven. This shows that saints are not infallible. \nBellarmine died on September 17\, 1621. The process for his canonization was begun in 1627 but was delayed until 1930 for political reasons\, stemming from his writings. In 1930\, Pope Pius XI canonized him and the next year declared him a doctor of the Church. \n\nReflection\nThe renewal in the Church sought by Vatican II was difficult for many Catholics. In the course of change\, many felt a lack of firm guidance from those in authority. They yearned for the stone columns of orthodoxy and an iron command with clearly defined lines of authority. Vatican II assures us in The Church in the Modern World\, “There are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ\, who is the same yesterday and today\, yes\, and forever” (#10\, quoting Hebrews 13:8). \nRobert Bellarmine devoted his life to the study of Scripture and Catholic doctrine. His writings help us understand that the real source of our faith is not merely a set of doctrines\, but rather the person of Jesus still living in the Church today. \n\nSaint Robert Bellarmine is the Patron Saint of:\nCatechists\nCatechumens
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-robert-bellarmine/2026-09-17/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260918
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260919
DTSTAMP:20170728T180934Z
CREATED:20170728T180934Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180934Z
UID:50944-1789689600-1789775999@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Joseph of Cupertino
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Joseph of Cupertino. Engraving after F.A. Lorenzini | Wellcome Images\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Joseph of Cupertino\nSaint of the Day for September 18\n(June 17\, 1603 – September 18\, 1663)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Joseph of Cupertino’s Story\nJoseph is most famous for levitating at prayer. Already as a child\, Joseph showed a fondness for prayer. After a short career with the Capuchins\, he joined the Conventual Franciscans. Following a brief assignment caring for the friary mule\, Joseph began his studies for the priesthood. Though studies were very difficult for him\, Joseph gained a great deal of knowledge from prayer. He was ordained in 1628. \nJoseph’s tendency to levitate during prayer was sometimes a cross; some people came to see this much as they might have gone to a circus sideshow. Joseph’s gift led him to be humble\, patient\, and obedient\, even though at times he was greatly tempted and felt forsaken by God. He fasted and wore iron chains for much of his life. \nThe friars transferred Joseph several times for his own good and for the good of the rest of the community. He was reported to and investigated by the Inquisition; the examiners exonerated him. \nJoseph was canonized in 1767. In the investigation preceding the canonization\, 70 incidents of levitation are recorded. \n\nReflection\nWhile levitation is an extraordinary sign of holiness\, Joseph is also remembered for the ordinary signs he showed. He prayed even in times of inner darkness\, and he lived out the Sermon on the Mount. He used his “unique possession” (his free will) to praise God and to serve God’s creation. \n\nSaint Joseph of Cupertino is the Patron Saint of:\nAir Travelers\nAstronauts\nPilots
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-joseph-of-cupertino/2026-09-18/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260919
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260920
DTSTAMP:20170728T180936Z
CREATED:20170728T180936Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180936Z
UID:50946-1789776000-1789862399@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Januarius
DESCRIPTION:Image: The Martyrdom of Saint Januarius | Neri di Bicci\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Januarius\nSaint of the Day for September 19\n(c. 300)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Januarius’ Story\nLittle is known about the life of Januarius. He is believed to have been martyred in the Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of 305. Legend has it that Januarius and his companions were thrown to the bears in the amphitheater of Pozzuoli\, but the animals failed to attack them. They were then beheaded\, and Januarius’ blood ultimately brought to Naples. \n\nReflection\nIt is defined Catholic doctrine that miracles can happen and are recognizable. Problems arise\, however\, when we must decide whether an occurrence is unexplainable in natural terms\, or merely unexplained. We do well to avoid an excessive credulity but\, on the other hand\, when even scientists speak about “probabilities” rather than “laws” of nature\, it is something less than imaginative for Christians to think that God is too “scientific” to work extraordinary miracles to wake us up to the everyday miracles of sparrows and dandelions\, raindrops and snowflakes. \n\nSaint Januarius is the Patron Saint of:\nBlood Banks\nNaples
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-januarius/2026-09-19/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260920
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260921
DTSTAMP:20170728T180938Z
CREATED:20170728T180938Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180938Z
UID:50947-1789862400-1789948799@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saints Andrew Kim Taegon\, Paul Chong Hasang\, and Companions
DESCRIPTION:Image: Saint Andrew Kim Taegon and Companions | CNS Photo\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaints Andrew Kim Taegon\, Paul Chong Hasang\, and Companions\nSaint of the Day for September 20\n(d. between 1839 – 1867)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaints Andrew Kim Taegon\, Paul Chong Hasang\, and Companions’ Story\nThis first native Korean priest was the son of Korean converts. His father\, Ignatius Kim\, was martyred during the persecution of 1839 and was beatified in 1925. After Baptism at the age of 15\, Andrew traveled 1\,300 miles to the seminary in Macao\, China. After six years\, he managed to return to his country through Manchuria. That same year he crossed the Yellow Sea to Shanghai and was ordained a priest. Back home again\, he was assigned to arrange for more missionaries to enter by a water route that would elude the border patrol. He was arrested\, tortured\, and finally beheaded at the Han River near Seoul\, the capital. Paul Chong Hasang was a lay apostle and married man\, aged 45. \nChristianity came to Korea during the Japanese invasion in 1592 when some Koreans were baptized\, probably by Christian Japanese soldiers. Evangelization was difficult because Korea refused all contact with the outside world except for taking taxes to Beijing annually. On one of these occasions\, around 1777\, Christian literature obtained from Jesuits in China led educated Korean Christians to study. A home Church began. When a Chinese priest managed to enter secretly a dozen years later\, he found 4\,000 Catholics\, none of whom had ever seen a priest. Seven years later there were 10\,000 Catholics. Religious freedom came in 1883. \nWhen Pope John Paul II visited Korea in 1984\, he canonized\, besides Andrew and Paul\, 98 Koreans and three French missionaries who had been martyred between 1839 and 1867. Among them were bishops and priests\, but for the most part they were lay persons: 47 women\, 45 men. \nAmong the martyrs in 1839 was Columba Kim\, an unmarried woman of 26. She was put in prison\, pierced with hot tools and seared with burning coals. She and her sister Agnes were disrobed and kept for two days in a cell with condemned criminals\, but were not molested. After Columba complained about the indignity\, no more women were subjected to it. The two were beheaded. A boy of 13\, Peter Ryou\, had his flesh so badly torn that he could pull off pieces and throw them at the judges. He was killed by strangulation. Protase Chong\, a 41-year-old noble\, apostatized under torture and was freed. Later he came back\, confessed his faith and was tortured to death. \n\nReflection\nWe marvel at the fact that the Korean Church was strictly a lay Church for a dozen years after its birth. How did the people survive without the Eucharist? It is no belittling of this and other sacraments to realize that there must be a living faith before there can be a truly beneficial celebration of the Eucharist. The sacraments are signs of God’s initiative and response to faith already present. The sacraments increase grace and faith\, but only if there is something ready to be increased.
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saints-andrew-kim-taegon-paul-chong-hasang-and-companions/2026-09-20/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260921
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260922
DTSTAMP:20170728T180940Z
CREATED:20170728T180940Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20170728T180940Z
UID:50948-1789948800-1790035199@www.thefranciscanfriars.org
SUMMARY:Saint Matthew
DESCRIPTION:Image: St Matthew and the Angel | Guido Reni\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSaint Matthew\nSaint of the Day for September 21\n(c. 1st Century)\nClick to hear audio clip ►\nSaint Matthew’s Story\nMatthew was a Jew who worked for the occupying Roman forces\, collecting taxes from other Jews. The Romans were not scrupulous about what the “tax farmers” got for themselves. Hence the latter\, known as “publicans\,” were generally hated as traitors by their fellow Jews. The Pharisees lumped them with “sinners” (see Matthew 9:11-13). So it was shocking to them to hear Jesus call such a man to be one of his intimate followers. \nMatthew got Jesus in further trouble by having a sort of going-away party at his house. The Gospel tells us that many tax collectors and “those known as sinners” came to the dinner. The Pharisees were still more badly shocked. What business did the supposedly great teacher have associating with such immoral people? Jesus’ answer was\, “Those who are well do not need a physician\, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words\, ‘I desire mercy\, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:12b-13). Jesus is not setting aside ritual and worship; he is saying that loving others is even more important. \nNo other particular incidents about Matthew are found in the New Testament. \n\nReflection\nFrom such an unlikely situation\, Jesus chose one of the foundations of the Church\, a man others\, judging from his job\, thought was not holy enough for the position. But he was honest enough to admit that he was one of the sinners Jesus came to call. He was open enough to recognize truth when he saw him. “And he got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9b). \n\nSaint Matthew is the Patron Saint of:\nAccountants\nActors\nBankers\nBookkeepers\nTax collectors\nTaxi Drivers
URL:https://www.thefranciscanfriars.org/event/saint-matthew/2026-09-21/
CATEGORIES:Saint of the Day
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